Dental articulator



Dec. 16, 1947. J. D. KINSLEY 2,432,524

' DENTAL ARTICULATOR Filed March 18, 1946 5Q 5 INVENTOR.

JD K/A/SLE Patented Dec. 16, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

The present invention relates to apparatus used in the practice of dentistry and more particularly to dental articulators and comprises among its objects the provision of an improved means for assembling and disassembling the maxillary and mandibular members of an articulator; the provision of an articulator which has a wide open throat, allowing free vision of and access to the rear portion of the work for the setting of teeth to proper occlusion; the provision of an improved bite-adjusting and retaining device for a dental articulator; the provision of a means for attachment of a face bow to an articulator, which means will permit the lateral adjustment of a case upon the articulator, when mounting; and such further objects, advantages, and capabilities as will hereafter appear and as are inherent in the construction disclosed herein. My invention further resides in the combination, construction, and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and, while I have shown therein what is now regarded as the preferred embodiment of this invention, I desire the same to be understood as illustrative only and not to be interpreted in a limiting sense.

In the drawings annexed hereto and forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 represents a side elevation,

Fig. 2 represents a front elevation, and

Fig. 3 represents a plan View of an articulator according to my invention;

Fig. 4 represents a plan view of the mandibular member of this articulator with the maxillary replaced by a face bow when setting up the desired bite arrangement;

Fig. 5 represents a side view of the structure shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 represents a vertical section substantially along the plane indicated by the line 5-45, Fig. 3;

and

Fig. 7 represents a vertical section in a plane corresponding to the line 66, Fig. 3, but showing a modified form of construction.

Reference will now be made in greater detail to the annexed drawings for a more complete description of this invention. First, reference will be made to Figs. 1, 2, and 3 from which it will be seen that a mandibular portion I has a pair of posts 2 rising from its rear end and serving to support the maxillary portion 3. The posts 2 are provided with one or more openings 4, of which I have shown only two in each post but of which there will probably be at least three in number when this article is put into general product ion,

- However, some units may be fabricated with a single pair of opposed openings 4.

The maxillary portion 3 has a pair of rearwardly extending arms 5 and 6 which are provided with openings for the reception of the shaft 1, about one end of which is a bushing 8 which is rigidly fastened to the arm 5 and the shaft 1. The bushing 8 is to limit the lateral movement of the maxillary member 3 under the influence of the spring 9. At one end this spring abuts against the arm 6 to which it is secured, for example, by being passed through an opening in the arm to which it may be soldered. The other end of the spring is free to move along the end portion ll! of the shaft 1 when it is desired to connect the maxillary member to the post 2 or to disconnect it therefrom. This is done by inserting the end I0 of the shaft 1 in the opening 4 of post 2 and then moving the maxillary member 3 laterally to compress the spring. The other end of the shaft 1 may then be inserted in the corresponding opening of the other post 2. Then when lateral pressure on the maxillary member 3 is relieved, the spring 9 will force the bushingB against the adjacent post 2 and hold it there, with member 3 centered with relation to the mandibular member I. The process of removing the maxillary member is the reverse of that just described.

The maxillary member 3 has a pair of posts I! rising from the forward end thereof and be tween these posts I l is pivotally mounted a block l2, provided in the portion remote from its pivots it with an unthreaded opening through which extends a sleeve having a milled head portion l3 by means of which it may be turned relatively to the threaded end portion Id of the support I5 with whichv it has threaded engagement. When it is desired to adjust the relative elevation of the rear portion of the maxillary member with relation to the mandibular member, the spring 9 is compressed, thus rendering easy the removal of the shaft 1 from the openings 4 in the posts 2. The shaft 1 is then inserted in another pair of openings 4 to get the desired spacing between members I and 3. In order to get the desired spacing between the forward ends of the members I and 3, the nut I6 is loosened and the sleeve, of which the milled head 13 forms a part, is turned about the threaded end Id of the support I5 until the desired adjustment is secured when the nut I6 is again tightened against the end of the sleeve. When the nut I6 is ti htened up completely, it should not bear tightly against the block l2 since the sleeve and the support must be free to turn within the block.

may be otherwise fastened to th'p osts' I'l. The

support I5 may, however, be turned about its longitudinal axis to re-po-sition the crank portion thereof, if this should .be in the way of the op erator.

From what has been said it will besenthat' the bi e opening can be adjusted" to the desired:

spacing and then the adjustment ean be held by tightening up the nut Iiil However, this' dos not prevent the turning of the support I'5iwhich is securely held in place with relation to the nut IIi and the sleeve having the milled head I3. Hence it is clear that thebite opening czin'ib'ea'djust ed to the desired size and then definitely held t" that sizewhile workingatthe placing of the te'thin constructing" dentures It is clea'r that the support I5 will definitely maintain the spacihg between the anterior ends of the members I and'fian'd that, when it is desirable to get the support I5 out of the way, it can be turned about its pivots I8 into the broken line position shown ee-. l I

when itl is desired to substitute a face bow for theimaxillary element, the latter: is removed, as dl j cribed' above, and a' rod 20 is put through the holes'dintheposts 2'. Wi'th one'of the nuts 25 ahdZZ screwed; out slightly from the end 23 f a conhectdr 24,' the corresponding rod ZS'can be slidthrough its connector 2 4 to back the cup 26 away far enough so that the ends Qfthe rod 253 can be inserted" in the cups 26 when the loose 19E125 will be pushedin and the nut II or 2?. sc wed upon the chuck 23 to hold the parts in ass. m l d e i TIhe face bow- 27 has a; post 25 mounted thereon,

as lshow'ng clearly in Fig.5, and this post 28 has a screw th'readed holding member 2 9' extending long tudinally through one en d thereof' to hold mepa'rtszt, 2'3, and?!) againstrelativ'e move ment. Asis well understood in the art, the rod 3l ljhasfa bow 3i secured to itsposterior end, and thi'sbow is embedded in a set of bite plates adjusted centrallyin a patients mouth and with thefface" bow adjusted with the terminalslocated at the respectivemandibular axes. The case isithen removed from the mouth and is adjusted to an articulator to be used for mountin a set of models thereto in anatomical relation.

Inlthe modified form of construction, shown in Fig. v 7, theslee've, together with its head, indicatedlby' the numeral I3, is eliminated, the post I having threaded engagement directly with a threaded openingiin the block I )2,

u It will of course be understood that the specific description of structure set forth above may be departed from' without departing from thespirit of this invention as disclosed herein and as defined in the appended claims. V

Having-now described my inventiomI- claim:

t?- d nta .a t q t ri u e a e a mandibular member with. posts rising from its posterior corners, each of the posts being provided 1n ts upper portion with a plurality of transverse openlngs for thereception of a shaft, correspond- 9 pigs inthe posts being aligned; a shaft my in apair of alignedopenings, a maxillary mem-ber'mounted on said shaft and secured thereto, said shaft being pivotally received in said openings whereby to allow pivotal motion of the maxillary member, a pair 01 posts'rising from the anterior end of the maxillary member, a block pivotally mounted between the second mentioned posts, and a support for the anterior end of the maxillary member connected to said block and adapted to be turned to occupy a position above themaxillary member, t

2. In a dental articulat'or structur having a mandibular member with posts rising from its posterior corners, each of the posts being provided in its upper portion with a plurality of transverse openingsfor the reception of a shaft, corresponding openings inthe posts being aligned; a shaft located in a pair of aligned openings, a maxillary member rriodn ted'onsaid shaft and secured thereto said shaft being pivotally received in said openings whereby to allow pivotal motion of the maxillary member, a pair of posts rising from the anterior end of the maxillary member, a block pivotally mounted'between the second mentioned posts,, a nd a support for the anterior end of the maxillary member connected' to' said block and adapted to be turnedto occupy a position above the maxillary ,member, said support being mounted sufiiciently loosely in the block to be readily rotated about its longitudinal axis,

3. In a dental articulat'or structure having a mandibular member with posts rising from its posterior corners, eachof the posts being provided in its upper portion with a plurality of transverse openings'for the reception of a shaft, corresponding openings H in the posts being aligned; a shaft located in a pair of aligned openings, a maxillary member mounted on said shaft and secured thereto, said shaft being pivotally received in said openings whereby to allow pivotal motion of the maxillary member, a pair of posts rising fromthe anterior end of the maxillary member, a block pivotally mounted between the second,mentioned'posts,a support for the anterior end" ,of the maxillary member connected to said block and adapted to be turned to occupy a position above the maxillary member, said block having a smooth bore'there'through, a sleeve rotatable in said bore, the opening through said sleeve being threaded to receive the like threaded end of said support, and a lock nut having threaded connection with said support whereby the support may be held in adjusted position with relation to the sleeve when tightened against it.

l' lnla dental articulator structure having a mandibular member with posts rising from its posterior corners, each of the posts being provided in its upper portion with at least one transverse opening for the reception of a pivot member, corresponding openings in the posts being aligned; a pivot'member located in a pair of aligned openings, a maxillary member mounted on said pivot member and secured thereto, said pivot member being pivotally received in said openings whereby to allow pivotal motion of the maxillar member, a pair of posts rising from the anterior end of the maxillary member, a block pivotally mounted between the second mentioned posts, and a support for the anterior end of the maxillary member movably connectedto said block and adapted to be turned to occupy a position above the" maxillary member, said support being mounted sufiiciently loosely in the block to be readily rotated about its longitudinal axis,

5. In a dental articulator structure having a mandibulanmember with, posts rising from its posterior corners, each of the posts being provided in its upper portion with a plurality of transverse openings for the reception of a shaft, corresponding openings in the posts being aligned, a shaft located in a pair of aligned openings, a maxillary member mounted on said shaft and secured thereto, said shaft being pivotally received in said openings whereby to allow pivotal motion of the maxillary member, a pair of posts rising from the anterior end of the maxillary member, a block pivotally mounted between the second mentioned posts, and a support for the anterior end of the maxillary member connected to said block and adapted to be turned to occupy a position above the maxillary member, said support being adjusted and fixed in perpendicular position by 15 means of a lock nut engaged with the threaded end of the support and tightened against the relative end of the sleeve which is loosely held in said hole 50 as to be readily rotated therein on the longitudinal axis of said support, said sleeve being held in position in the block by means of a knurled 6 head at the lower extremity and by the lock nut at the upper extremity.

JASON D. KINSLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 613,772 Moffitt Nov 8, 1898 1,160,114 Snow Nov. 9, 1915 1,368,408 Needles Feb, 15, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 544,125 Germany Feb. 16, 1932 OTHER REFERENCES The Gysi Trubyte Articulator, Publication of Dentists Supply Co. of New York (copyright 1928) ,page 13. 

